Can I use oven cleaner on my Ninja Foodi

Cleaning your air fryer could not be simpler…yet not enough people do it often enough. The result of this is an air fryer that doesn’t smell as good as it should and often transfers that into your food.

In this post, I will tell you the simplest way to clean baked on grease from your air fryer. Trust me, you will love the results!

Can’t I just put it in the dishwasher?

Its not as simple as throwing the removable parts into the dishwasher. I recently wrote a post about precisely this issue.

The damage that a dishwasher can cause is significant and will damage your air fryer parts eventually. If you aren’t overly concerned about shortening the lifespan of your air fryer, use your dishwasher

If it is an issue for you, I suggest that you follow the following method.

Benefits of removing the grease from your air fryer

By far the biggest benefit is the taste of the food. With a dirty air fryer that has lots of grease, this gets heated up when the air fryer is being used. This has the effect of tainting the taste of the food you are cooking and also releasing quite an unpleasant odor.

Cleaning your air fryer also causes it to operate more efficiently. It is therefore cooking your food faster whilst costing you less money.

How often should I clean my Air Fryer?

The simple truth is that you should be looking to clean it every time you use it. This sounds like more than a burden than it actually is.

Let’s face it, very little grease is created by most foods using an air fryer. Therefore, a simple wipe down and rinse of the basket should be sufficient.

By not doing this, the grease is drying and getting hard. It therefore makes it much more difficult to clean at a later date. Especially if you have layers of buildup.

If you are cooking bacon or similar foods that release a lot of fat, you should definitely clean it fully after every use. You need to go through the full process detailed below.

Signs your Air fryer needs a clean

If the taste of your food is ‘funky’ or tastes like other foods you cooked previously… your air fryer needs cleaning.

Smoke coming out of the air fryer is another sure fire signal that cleaning is required. This is happening because the heat is burning the grease. It may not be the case that you have cooked really fatty food like bacon, it may well even happen if you used slightly too much oil previously.

If your food starts sticking to the base of the basket, this indicates that a clean is required. This is because the nonstick surface is compromised…assuming of course that it is not damaged. If you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you read my post about non-stick coatings in air fryers.

What to avoid using when cleaning your air fryer

A balance is required when it comes to cleaning the grease from your air fryer. You obviously need to get it cleaned but at the same time, you do not want to damage any of the coatings.

This is why I do not recommend using a dishwasher. They operate at high heat which erodes the surface of the nonstick cookware. It can lead to flaking which can be toxic.

For this same reason, I don’t recommend that you use any steel wool or scourers. You obviously want to protect the non-stick or Teflon surface, using those will scratch and damage it over time.

I am also against using any strong detergents or things that aren’t designed to clean. Often, these can have the opposite effect and actually cause damage instead of cleaning.

I highly suggest you follow the method prescribed below. It is a balance between protecting your cookware and getting it clean.

Cleaning your air fryer of all the dirt and grease it has accumulated could not be easier. You can read my full post on removing the air fryer smell here.

What you will need

You simply need some hot water and a sponge. If you are also cleaning the outside of your air fryer, you will need a microfiber cloth. For baked in food and grease, you may also need a soft bristled brush or silicone pad, alongside some bicarbonate of soda.

Method

Step 1 – Ensure the appliance is unplugged and remove the basket and tray from the main unit. Only when it is cold, pass over the whole unit with paper towels to remove any loose grease.

Step 2 – Use a damp cloth over the whole unit removing as much grease as you can. Simply use hot water and a sponge at this point. The heating element can be cleaned using the sponge too. Do NOT use anything abrasive.

Step 3 – If you have wiped the tray and it still has food stuck to it, put some bicarbonate of soda onto a sponge and start rubbing. This will form a paste and you can use a bristle brush to help remove the food. You can repeat this step for the air fryer basket.

Step 4 – If the basket is not cleaning as you would like, place it into a filled hot water sink. Allow it to soak for a period of time until it breaks down the grease and the caked-on food.

Step 5 – Ensure that all the parts have been air dried properly before you put them back together. Your air fryer should be clean and ready to go!

How to clean grease from air fryer basket – Alternative methods of cleaning your air fryer

Many people have ways to get things clean. One of the more common ones I hear is the vinegar method. This is where hot water and vinegar are mixed and the greasy item submerged and soaked. This is an effective method of breaking down grease.

Other people have gone a little further. I have heard some cases of people using power washers to clean baskets and pans. The power of the pressure washer can break grease down quite efficiently.

Other methods include degreasers and BBQ cleaners. There is a certain oven cleaning product that come with a chemical solution, that is poured into a bag and sealed. This is very effective at cleaning oven appliances and is just as effective with greasy air fryers.

How to clean baked on grease from air fryer basket?

Simply follow the method prescribed above to remove baked on grease out of an air fryer basket.

Verdict

This concludes my post on cleaning baked on grease from air fryer. As you can see it should be a straightforward process that should lead to better smelling and better tasting food.

Obviously, the best method would be to clean every time you use it. It only takes a minute but it makes cleaning it a breeze.

Do you have any tips that you would like to share? What method do you like to use? Leave a comment below.

See you soon… Jayne x

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It would be really nice if you could share this article and image on your social media.

It’s just a couple of clicks for you but it means the world to me.

Thank you so much…Jayne x

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